The Scarlet Cord - Moriel Ministries

Feature Article – Continued
her family.
After our own relationship with the Lord,
there is nothing more important in our lives
than the salvation of our loved ones. It is
more important than our own biological
lives. Rahab desired the salvation of her
family, and God desires the salvation of our
families. May they repent and believe.
She Switched Allegiances
Then she switched allegiances and joined
the other side.
Yes, things are getting very unpleasant
for Christians in the world, and I speak in
places where the Church is persecuted. I
was just with the Hmong people in Vietnam.
They are impoverished—and I mean really
poor. They are persecuted, and for the most
part they do not have any Bibles, yet their
churches are growing! They have nothing
to hope in, nothing to trust in except Jesus.
Their only hope for a better life and better
world is the coming one. Remember, it
was Smyrna who was really rich (Rev.2:9),
and it was Laodicea, although materially
and financially rich, who was broke (Rev.
3:17). The Hmong people are Smyrna; we
are Laodicea.
Rahab desired the salvation of her family
and she switched allegiances. Someone
who has switched allegiances and become
part of the invading army has no problem. It
is like Kaddafi, who was deposed as dictator
of Libya. Who wanted to fight for him
He couldn’t win. But it is specified, “Do
not go out” (Josh. 2:19). Just as it was with
Lot, it is an application of, “Forsake not the
fellowshipping together, one with another,
especially as you see the day approaching”
(Heb. 10:25).
She Was Told Not to Go Out & Not
to Betray
If we have a Bible-based church that is
centered on Christ with decent leadership,
we are very fortunate. But there are many
Christians in America, Australia, Britain
and elsewhere who do not have this. I find
more and more people meeting in homes
and small groups simply because they can
no longer find a biblically-based church
where they live. It does not matter if someone
meets in a tent out in the middle of a
field, they must be in fellowship. If people
are out of fellowship with other believers,
it is because they are out of fellowship with
the Lord. If they are in prison for the faith
in Saudi Arabia, that is something different;
God will take care of them. But the norm
He who separates himself seeks his
own desire, He quarrels against all
sound wisdom. (Proverbs 18:1)
When we see people who are chronically
out of fellowship with other believers, they
are actually out of fellowship with the Lord.
Some claim they do not go because the
church is filled with hypocrites. Well then,
they ought to fit right in. No matter what
they say, they quarrel against all sound wisdom.
They are really seeking the desire of
their own nature.
They say, “I don’t need the church, I
have Jesus!” If that was true, they would
want to be in fellowship with other believers.
They are quarreling against all sound
wisdom; they seek their own desire—they
lack sense. People who are out of fellowship
in the last days put themselves in a
situation of tremendous peril. If we cannot
stand together, we will never stand alone.
“Do not go out!”
When people leave the church (I am not
saying a given congregation, but out of fellowship)
they are going to backslide if they
have not done so already.
And twice it is reiterated, “Do not betray.”
What did Jesus say was going to happen
“Many will fall away and betray one
another” (Mt. 24:10). This is happening already,
but it is going to happen big time.
Just to begin with, let me tell you who is
going to betray us tomorrow: the ones who
tune into the idiot box and listen to Benny,
Kenny and Joyce today. Those listening
to the money preachers and their false
promise, “You don’t have to suffer! You’re
a King’s Kid! God wants you rich! Blabit-and-grab-it!
Just confess the victory and
you won’t suffer!” When opposition and
trials come, they are going to be the first
ones to fall away, these people who listen to
those religious liars who have a lying spirit.
These money-preaching televangelists are
at the forefront of the false prophets Jesus
warned would come to deceive the elect in
the last days (Mt. 24:24). Do not pay attention
to any of them.
She Hangs a Scarlet Cord
But there, finally, hanging in the window
of the room where Rahab gathered together
her family, the scarlet cord is found. And
here we are, all together where the scarlet
cord is. Our sins are like scarlet, but they
shall be white as snow (Is. 1:18)—the blood
of the paschal lamb.
In the house where I live in England, near
the suburbs of London, there is on the door
a “mezuzah”—the way the Torah is put on
the doorposts of a Jewish family’s house.
Then there is a sticker on the garage, “Jehovah’s
Witnesses Welcome Here.” (I have
a great time when they come over, though
I have reason to believe I have been put on
their black list and they tell their people to
avoid me now.) But there is a third thing
I still have to get: I want to hang a scarlet
cord in the window. I have the sticker, I
have the mezuzah, but I must get a scarlet
cord. We all need a scarlet cord.
How did Rahab get rescued Why was
she saved Why did God bless her and use
her so much Why did she become a matriarch
and a role model of faith and faithfulness
How did she become memorialized
for all time in the Word of God and an ancestor
to Jesus the Messiah Himself How
did a Gentile prostitute reach this stature
She was not just a shiksa, but a hooker to
boot! It is not how low we have been, but
how high we can go in Christ. She knew
what she was.
Conclusion
If you have never trusted Jesus for your
salvation, it is quite simple. Believe me,
you are not the only person who has sinned.
But even if you were, you are so important
to God and He loves you so much that He
would have come and been nailed to that
cross just for you alone personally. Jesus did
not die just for all of us, He died for each of
us; that is how important you are to God. The
price has already been paid. You are either
going to repent and ask Him to forgive you,
or you will spend eternity wishing you did.
Rahab knew what she was, that she was
no good. In and of myself, I am no good,
and I do not know who you are, but take
my word for it, the Scriptures say you are
no good. Once you realize that, we can get
someplace. In other words, if you want to
spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, a place
prepared for Satan and his angels (Rev.
20:10; 21:8), you do not have to be an upstanding
member of society, you do not
have to be a priest, a rabbi or a liberal minister,
you do not have to be a member of the
professional or business community, you
do not have to be an outstanding citizen to
go to hell, but it helps.
On the other hand, if you want to be
saved, you do not have to be a hooker like
Rahab, you do not have to be swindler or
crook, a cocaine addict like me or a drunk,
you do not have to be immoral, you do not
have to be a fornicator, you do not have to
be debauched or a gambler in order to go
to heaven, but it helps because at least you
know what you are. All have sinned, all fall
short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Rahab
knew what she was.
Rahab knew Joshua was coming, and,
believe me, Joshua is coming! We can call
Him “Joshua,” we can call Him “Yehoshua,”
we can call Him “Yeshua,” we can call
Him “Jesus,” but He is coming.
She knew that His coming depended on
God’s plan for Israel. Wise Christians still
know that. She knew the signs of the time and
we should know the signs of the time as well.
Moriel Quarterly • September 2012